


The Greatest Birthday Gift of All Time

by DarkOmen



Category: Wonder Woman (2017)
Genre: Ambiguous/Open Ending, Comfort, F/M, Light Angst, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Orpheus and Eurydice Myth, Somewhat, don't quote me
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-24
Updated: 2017-12-24
Packaged: 2019-02-19 19:50:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,491
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13130883
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DarkOmen/pseuds/DarkOmen
Summary: *Working Title*Diana's birthday is here and Persephone is determined to give her a gift better than any others.





	The Greatest Birthday Gift of All Time

**Author's Note:**

  * For [princessoftheworlds](https://archiveofourown.org/users/princessoftheworlds/gifts).



> This is for my giftee, princess-of-the-worlds, over on tumblr as part of the Wondertrev Secret Santa. All mistakes are my own and I will apologize for my writing style. It's been quite some time. I'm also not very satisfied with this ending but I couldn't figure out how to keep going or how to stop.

Diana laughed as she ducked under another swipe of her companion’s sword. The responding growl had another laugh bubbling from her mouth as she brought her sword up once more to cross blades with Persephone. The goddess in front of her simply rolled her eyes and pressed in with her weapon, throwing her body weight behind it and throwing Diana off balance. Gracefully, she rolled and came up standing with a smile and playful toss of her hair. "It’s alright, Persephone. She was trained by some of our greatest warriors, after all. Don't be a sore loser.” Hades said, playfully smiling at his wife while he took a break from balancing the 'death books', as she so eloquently called them. 

Tucking loose red hair behind her ear, Persephone sheathed her sword and joined Hades on their shared throne. “Be that as it may, she can still use practice. I almost took her feet out altogether with that push," Persephone said with a delicate sniff, waving a hand around herself to make the sweat disappear from her skin and return her hair to its previously unruffled state. “Now that we've had our fun, why don’t we get down to business.” Her tone made it clear that this was no question and she would be obeyed. 

Diana nodded her agreement and grabbed a displaced chair so she could take a seat before the couple, absently sheathing her weapon as she walked. “I knew that you hadn’t called me from Paris for a simple sword fight.” She said teasingly. While she was close with her sister and uncle, they were both busy people and schedules never seemed to match up for friendly visits. "This wouldn't happen to be concerning my birthday, would it?"

Hade laughed at that and nodded his head with a pleased smile. “As I’m sure you are well aware, Persephone always has to outdo everyone else with birthday gifts and I have to agree that this one is perfect.” 

"No one truly knows Persephone unless they know of her competitiveness." Diana said with a grin. 

"Quit making fun or I might not give you the gift." Persephone said primly before waving her hand, a plume of black smoke appeared and, once it cleared, a pedestal with a book on it remained. “This will tell you where Steve Trevor’s soul is being held. You can retrieve him if he wishes it so, and he will live beside you for as long as Persephone or I control the underworld.” He took one look at Diana’s teary eyes and offered a small smile. 

“Keep in mind, this falls under the Eurydice clause. Once you take him on the path to the living, until you are both under the sun, you may not look at him. There are no exceptions and there is only one chance at this.” Persephone said, smiling softly as she left her throne and wrapped Diana in a hug. The demigoddess accepted the gesture for a few moments before backing away and wiping her eyes quickly. 

“Thank you, I will not waste this gift,” Diana said, moving to the book. It was already settled on Steve’s page, information about his entire life and afterlife at her fingertips, but easily ignored in favor of finding where he was. The Fields of Asphodel was where most humans went and it was not surprising to see the realm listed as Steve's resting place. It was a relief to have something expected happen, as all of the unexpected events was battering at her mission-focused mind. She didn't have time for a real breakdown though, she needed to get Steve back and than she would take time to process everything. 

"I can get you to the Field, but, beyond that, it will be up to you. The souls there move too much for any true tracking to be done." Persephone told her, grasping her shoulder tightly after Diana nodded her thanks. They bid goodbye to Hades and disappeared in a plume of burgundy smoke. 

*

Teleportation was something Diana would never get used to. She stumbled away from Persephone and exhaled slowly, getting her bearings about her after they landed softly on the grey grass. The Queen didn't stay long as her presence often riled the wandering souls, so Diana was soon on her way.

She started her search near Elysium's borders, wading through increasingly thick and colorful grass the closer she got to the golden fence surrounding the neighboring realm. 

The way the Fields of Asphodel were set up, meant that the more 'above average' a human was, the closer to Elysium the soul would be and she knew that her brave Captain Steve Trevor would be among the closest stretch. Time also had very little meaning in the underworld, so one could never tell just how long they had been there. This was something she knew to be careful of, since she still wanted to be home in the same year, though she trusted Hades to grab her before things had gotten too dire. 

Her biggest concern was accidentally grabbing the wrong soul since that would inevitably yank the being from their dazed state and bring their thoughts into focus. A soul in the fields relieved their greatest memories for all eternity and would not truly know they were dead, so to be, essentially, woken up could be traumatic and lead to the soul trying to escape. Yes, it would be best for everyone involved that Diana was extremely careful. 

It didn't take long for her to see her first batch of souls. Steve was not among them so she carefully went around them and continued on, meeting many more groupings with no sign of her beloved. She was starting to become anxious that she would have to branch out a little more than expected before she finally noticed a familiar blonde head. She almost ran to him but kept a slow pace so she would not disturb the souls around her. 

Once she reached him, she was overjoyed to see that she had been right about the beings identity and, finally, she reached out and grasped his wrist. It took only a few seconds- though it felt like a lifetime- before he seemed to stagger and his eyes lost the glazed tone they had previously held. 

She couldn't help herself from grabbing his other wrist and bringing his hands to her face, pressing chaste kisses to his palms as he focused on her. She was already crying as he finally seemed to get his bearings. He looked almost lost as he looked at her, before he became animated and gently grabbed her face. He leaned in as she did and they rested their foreheads against each other, tears steadily streaming down both of their faces now as they crumpled to the ground together. 

"Oh Diana." He breathed, kissing her again for the first time in decades. Once he started, neither could stop as both rushed to feel the other and reaffirm that they were both there. Diana laughed tearfully as she gathered him close in a hug that he willingly fell into. 

~ 

They could have sat there for the rest of eternity and neither would have worried but, eventually, Steve wanted to know where he was and what she was doing there. Hearing the truth of his death and the resulting events caused more tears, but Steve took it surprisingly well. Perhaps it was because he, like her, was more interested in getting out of Hades before having a mental break down. Either way, she was thankful that he was keeping a cool head because she knew that she wouldn't be able to handle her own roiling emotions and his at the same time. 

They stood up slowly, still clasping each other's wrists, and Diana began guiding them towards the exit. Steve couldn't help but tighten his grasp on Diana as they passed another group of souls and she steered them towards the darkest corner of Asphodel. "The exit of Orpheus could always be found where there was no light and clear intentions." Diana told him, sliding her hand down his wrist and tangling their fingers together reassuringly. He gave her a small smile, but otherwise remained quiet. He knew that he was behaving out of character, but he couldn't seem to shake it off. It was just easier to follow where he was led and not question it. He knew Diana, and he trusted her to not lead him astray. 

"Once we are on this path Steve, I will not be able to look or touch you so please stay close to me. I could not bear losing you after finally getting you back." Diana gripped his hands as she told him this. He solemnly nodded and squeezed her hands in reassurance before she let him go and stepped onto the path. He took one fortifying breath and followed, eyes on her, forever.


End file.
